One-time Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not better than the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He made the declaration yesterday while justifying his defection, on Saturday, from APC to PDP – a move that shocked many political observers considering the fact that Ribadu was the 2011 presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, one of the parties that merged to form APC last year.

The PUNCH quotes Ribadu as saying through his spokesman, Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz: “In Nigeria, especially in politics, you can’t say that this is an exclusive party for the people who are thieves or this is for good people.

“It’s just like saying that all Yorubas are this or all Igbos are this. In every group of people, there must be good people and there are bad people. Of course, the good may be more than the bad or the bad may be more than the good in any group.

“But there is no any party that is exclusively for the good people or for the bad people.”

The paper further quoted Ribadu as saying in an exclusive chat that his defection was not borne out of his desperation to realise his political ambition but was based on his patriotic zeal to serve the country and his people.

According to Abdulaziz,as quoted by The PUNCH, “It is not true that he (Ribadu) was desperate to realise his political ambition. This is because this decision was taken in the overriding interest of serving the people.

“What matters for him is service. That is why even when he was a member of the opposition party, when government asked him to serve the country, he accepted the offer and he did a wonderful job that everybody hailed except those who don’t want change in the system. If you are ready to serve the people, sometimes you will have to do something that is not even palatable to yourself.”

•Photo shows Adamawa PDP governorship aspirant Nuhu Ribadu.

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